Its 5:00 a.m. and I may be suffering from the hangover effects of my weekend fever, but I woke up with these thoughts. Please forgive me.

I've been reading in the blog world about the tension many are feeling about forms and function of church as we seek to move forward in our callings. I believe these issues are quite complex. Yet, the Gospel is incredibly simple.

Here's my best take on the subject:

1) If we're honest, our personality make-ups have a lot to do with the forms of church/ministry that we're involved in. We gravitate towards our passions and naturally choose the ones that fit our ways of thinking. (this is coming at it from a more psychological viewpoint.)

2) According to Dallas Willard in "Renovation of the Heart", all of us have been spiritually formed in good and bad ways. The process of discipleship is to be transformed into the creatures God originally intended us to be. When it comes to ministry, all of us have been formed.

Some of us have embraced certain traditions, assumptions, worldviews and church forms that we have no need to question or threaten. We are comfortable with the Sunday morning church. There is still a LARGE amount of people going to churches on Sunday mornings and its a harvest.

Some of us have been formed by painful negative experiences in "that" church. These experiences have lead us on journeys to question everything, to go back to the Scriptures and try to figure out what the Kingdom that Jesus was talking about means and to rediscover ancient forms of Christianity that have been lost through the years, particularly in mainstream evangelicalism. Some of these forms are simplicity, community, availability, vulnerability, monasticism, and contemplative prayer. We speak, feel and react out of our formative experiences giving us our present worldview.

3) These two very general worldviews described above are strikingly different in a host of ways. They don't see the world the same way, they don't speak the same language, they share and practice different values and they have contrasting assumptions about the world they live in. They read the Gospel of Jesus to different conclusions. They define and practice evangelism with completely different styles. These worldviews are clashing in many private and sometimes public ways. And if Chuck Killian, one of my seminary professors is right (a professor with whom I had epic battles), he said, "Ministry happens on the other side of tension", then this clash is a good thing for the Church, let's not run from it.

4) Experientially speaking, I have been in hundreds of these conversations about this divide as it is a part of my own story. I grew up and was formed in category one and have grown through the desert to be formed into category two. (that's desert, not dessert) And in all of these conversations, I can make one emphatic statement, I haven't met one inherently evil person yet and I have found each to be passionately in love with the Christ. Now there are things I question about motives, traditions, modern forms, power, control, hierarchy, money, pastoral roles, ego, etc. etc., but I have not yet found one person to be inherently evil.

Now, I have been accused of being heretic, not saved, liberal, off the edge, misfit, angry, non conformist, "out there", different, an enigma and my personal favorite "wreaking of postmodernism" :) But I have found all of these comments to be evidence of the language barrier between these two worldviews and the passions we have towards the ministries we have gravitated towards. And not one person is speaking outside of their own experience of Christ.

5) Out of my worldview and philosophy of ministry, I do believe that form is very influential on function. I won't go as far as to say that it "dictates" function, but it does highly influence it. The systems we create generate certain behaviors. Our systems are fueled by our formations and theologies and the way we see the world. All of us who are intentionally doing something in ministry are thinking and acting within a form of system. For some it may be tradtiional/seeker/emergent, for others it may be organic/relational/monastic but its a system nonetheless and they all generate certain behaviors. Yes, the Spirit redeems, inspires, moves within, corrects faulty assumptions and can genuinely empower his ministry of reconciliation in either system. (my peeps are going to hate me for using the word "system" so bring it on)

I'm not sure I've said anything new here or if I've made it as clear as mud, but its stuff I've been thinking about (yes, out of my worldview). Feel free to push back, I can take it. Besides, I already assume your not evil :)


Stop and notice the Kingdom around you today,
Chris

Tom,

wow, great reflection, particularly the hope that we are merging from bounded set to centered set thinking. This has been a major paradigdm shift for me. thanks for your reflection, Tom.
--Chris Marshall ( cmarsh01 at fuse dot net ) on 10/6/2004; 8:34:09 AM

On my first reading, I felt a bit like Paul's audience in Athens (Acts 17:32) and wanted to hear more on this subject before responding. After numerous readings, however, I guess I am ready to respond.

In regard to the complexity of issues while the Gospel is incredibly simple, then let's let the Gospel lead. Immerse and discipline ourselves in it to the point that it becomes the vessel that we walk, speak, and worship in.

In regard to gravitating toward church/ministry driven by our passions, I say, "Amen." As a church business administrator, I find myself driven toward perceived obligation, not passion. Thanks for that good word.

"The process of discipleship is to be transformed into the creatures God originally intended." To me, that is the GOSPEL - a process that takes place along the journey through good and bad experiences (in worship, church, ministry, and elsewhere.)

In regard to some having embraced "certain traditions, assumptions, worldviews and church forms," all of those are initiated by man and there IS a need to question and feel threatened if those "things" cannot be tied to Christ.

In regard to some who want to "try to figure out what the Kingdom that Jesus was talking about means," read Mark 1:15 and Matthew 4:17. The Kingdom means "HIM." A while back I finally stopped thinking of the word "near" as used in those passages to be time related and started thinking about it in the form of physical proximity. That's been very helpful to me.

In regard to some who have pursued "simplicity, community, availability, vulnerability, monasticism, and contemplative prayer," with the exception of monasticism, Jesus Christ pursued all of those. It's a good list.

In regard to your "two very general worldviews," I must say that they are very general and represent a couple of views. The world (not American) population is culturally diverse enough to determine unlimited form and function in regard to church ministry that is centered in Christ. Hopefully we are gradually moving away from bounded set theories where one is either "in or out," and are moving toward centered set theories where one is either moving away from or closer to Christ.

Finally, in regard to the clash of your two worldviews being "a good thing for the Church," you bet it is, my brother. It's always good to shake the dust off of some old sandals that have walked the same spiritual road for a long time without looking up to the next spiritual horizon created by our Lord and Saviour.

In Christ... peace!

Tom
--Tom Foran ( tomjoe at arn dot net ) on 9/30/2004; 8:55:09 AM